


stars in your heart

by Alaneii, kontent



Series: BBB 2020: stars in your heart [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Aliens, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Fake Science, Family Feels, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Getting Together, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Relationship, Sibling Bonding, Terminal Illnesses, actually it's not even that fake science, author lo says pls comment, lmao "not even that fake" we literally consulted an astrophysicist, space odyssey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26648185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alaneii/pseuds/Alaneii, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kontent/pseuds/kontent
Summary: Bruce is a xenobiologist, who works to help save dying species across the universe.When his adopted father Alfred falls sick, Bruce goes on a trip through the galaxy to find a plant that can help cure Alfred.Along the way, he helps everyone he can - and ends up gaining a family.aka, Bruce goes on a trip through space and finally finds a home.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Clark Kent, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Hal Jordan & Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne
Series: BBB 2020: stars in your heart [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938853
Comments: 20
Kudos: 26
Collections: Batfam Big Bang 2020





	stars in your heart

**Author's Note:**

> **Content Warning** : this chapter addresses parental death, as well as allusions to entire sentient species dying out (due to the nature of Bruce’s job). There is also a short allusion to extremely bad fires, which is due to one author’s home in California, but it may be upsetting to those affected by the recent wildfires. 
> 
> our fic premise: angst! fluff! family bonding!  
> the actual fic: a philosophical discussion of gender, pronouns, humanity, love for people who are not blood-related, and finding your way through trauma
> 
> Here's big shout-out to our amazing artists and betas!  
> Artists: Cai, Clark, Alex, and Vas!  
> Betas: Cai, Korey, Auri, and Jay!  
> You all are the best, we couldn't have asked for a better space family for this trip. <3  
> 

* * *

[present time: on the spaceship]

* * *

Bruce stares into the endless abyss stretching out before him, and for a moment, he just breathes.

He can’t help but think of everyone who isn’t there with him right now. Of Kal having to take on Bruce’s duties, and how tel will deal with them. He thinks of how Diana will react when she learns Bruce is gone. He wonders if Hal went back to the gala, or went to talk to Kal, or if hy is still where Bruce left hym – standing motionless in the hangar bay, beautiful, radiant, and alone.

Bruce isn’t sure he actually wants the answers to that question. To any of his questions. 

His teammates, his friends, his parents – everyone Bruce is aching for, he knows he can not spend time thinking about them. He knows they would distract him from the most important mission he’s ever been on. Knows that this mission is the only thing that truly matters right now.

Unfortunately, Bruce is not who many of his coworkers and acquaintances seem to think he is. He isn’t the intrepid researcher and journeyer who is past emotion and longing and _loneliness_ -

That’s not him.

(But Blazar, sometimes he wishes it was.)

But the memories and the hurt follow him, even after all the years and vast distances traveled. Even now, when he has built a life around a job he loves, around people he considers dear friends, like family, almost – it still feels like there is a black hole inside his chest. Like everything light and good will crumble and fall apart if he stops to look at it. As if it’s made of sand and he is the ocean, crashing into it and swallowing it whole, destroying it in the process of witnessing it. As if he is a black hole, and the moment he gets too close to the light, it will vanish, it will crumble and bend around him, and he will be left with nothing but the ruins of happiness lost.

He has made peace with it – with this emptiness where his parents used to be, with the ache he feels when Kal tells him about teli children. About teli _family_.

He has found peace in his work, in the moments when he can _save_ a parent, when he can change a child’s life for the better. When he can help make a world safe, or rather, safer. 

He is still hurting, and he thinks, maybe, he always will. But his work brings him something – solace, maybe.

At least, most days it does. Today, there is no peace to be found, not even in the prospect of leading a mission to save an at-risk sentient species.

* * *

[flashback: the gala] 

* * *

Bruce is smiling when Kal pulls him aside to talk to him. Not a fake smile, like he often uses at events, but for once something comfortable and truly joyful. He’s been talking to Diana, and she has told him about all the progress she’d made. The peace she had negotiated is truly beneficial for all parties involved, and most of them had come to see that, thanking her for her work.

But Kal’s face is clouded when Bruce sees tel, and Bruce can feel in his bones that bad news is coming. Telo walks with him, until they are out of hearing range of the group – and anyone else, too – and then Kal looks at him. Kal looks at him, gentle and endlessly sad, and Bruce knows before tel even opens telis mouth. But he listens anyways, as telo tells him of a planet lost in flames, and a ship, delayed, not having left in time. 

And it’s as simple and dreadful as that.

Suddenly, the plants that keep his father alive, that make up Alfred zyrself, are nearly extinct. The ship coming to bring Bruce the start of a new crop is destroyed. 

The moment itself is almost a sick mockery of the worst memory of Bruce’s life. Him, smiling, and suddenly having a parent being ripped away from him. Having to face the reality of death, of being told the clock has run out. 

Alfred is going to die. And Bruce is stuck at a gala, having to pretend everything is fine. Smiling for the high and mighty, for those who only bother because they want to keep their wealth and power. He is supposed to pretend he cares about them, while his father, the only family he has left, is dying, zyr body slowly failing. 

_And Bruce doesn’t know what to do._

* * *

[present time: on the spaceship]

* * *

Bruce shakes himself from the memories of last-dock and looks down at the guideboard before him. He is one of the leading experts in biology across the universe, with years of research under his belt. He has over a decade of experience in finding alternative plant matter to support the survival of at-risk sentient species.

He’s an expert. He’s _the_ expert. But right now, he doesn’t know what to do or where to go.

He just knows that he’s not sure he’ll survive losing yet another parent. That he isn’t sure he can handle that all over again. 

But those thoughts won’t help Alfred, so Bruce measures his breaths and pulls up his own past research about the m’orta plants that comprise his father’s body; specifically, his analysis regarding which of their traits would need to be present in anything Bruce finds to replace them.

They’re hardy. They use chlorophyll to make sugars from UV radiation. Any alternatives would need to be flexible and moldable, and not be rooted to the ground. They need wat-

They need to exist without being rooted to the ground.

Bruce knows where to start.

* * *

[flashback: the gala]

* * *

Bruce weaves through the crowd, ignoring the eyes on him and those who move to talk to him. He cannot risk causing any issues with the alliances and funding being organized tonight, but for once in his life, Bruce has something more important to do.

He needs to say goodbye.

The added stress of having to touch so many people to get through the crowd makes his skin _itch_ , and he feels his heart beat faster. Even on good days, moving through a crowd makes his adrenaline spike, and right now it’s almost unbearable. When he finally sees the white robes he’s been looking for, his racing mind slows a little. 

The lights shine all around, laughter and keens and chirps ringing through the air, fabrics rustling and swishing as dancers spin, but Bruce feels his calm returning to him.

Galas like these always seem like a kaleidoscope of colours to Bruce – shimmering, fluctuating, ever-changing in front of his eyes, and it’s exhausting. 

But right there in front of Bruce is Hal. 

Halian Jordan-Ki Jasil.

The “Lantern” of the League is standing next to a few diplomats from different systems, smiling and waving hys hands with ships passing by in the tall windows. The planet below glows, but Bruce’s eyes are on Hal, absolutely stunning and resplendent in hys robes. Hy turns to speak to another ambassador and metallic green glints on hys ears, delicate twisting earrings that match the traditional embroidery of hys people, who took him in when LH Colony Castian was destroyed. 

Blazar, Bruce is proud of hym.

And now he has to hurt hym, has to let hym down again. There’s not really a choice to be made for Bruce, no other real options, but it still hurts, ache of loss heavy in his chest before he’s even said a single word.

But he’s already made his choice.

Bruce looks Hal straight in hys eyes, ignoring the way his heart stumbles in his chest. Opens his mouth and closes it and opens it and-

“Tell me what’s wrong, Bruce.”

It’s too much, too raw, but Bruce _needs_ to tell hym, so he redirects. Buys himself time. Asks Hal if hy remembers how Alfred’s people work – and yes, of course hy does, Hal always remembers – and by then, like magic, the words are there, and then Bruce is speaking frantically about plants and burning and mirror species and time and _just keeps talking_ until Hal holds out a hand between them and Bruce latches on immediately. 

(Hal knows Bruce so well, at this point. Recognizes the need for contact, but knows Bruce can’t handle too much, knows Bruce needs to be in control of it. Even Kal-El sometimes just avoids getting too close to Bruce when telo’s unsure what Bruce needs. But Hal lets Bruce choose, and lets Bruce change, and he’s going to miss that _so much_.)

“What do you need, Bruce?”

“I need to go. I need a ship.”

And despite everything, Hal still finds a smile for Bruce. (It doesn’t look like an easy task. Hal does it anyways.)

“Then let’s go. I’ll walk you to the hangar.”

* * *

[present time: on the spaceship] 

* * *

Bruce walks to his father’s room, which ze has started adapting for the turn zyr life will take for the foreseeable future. The M’nilah survive as a consciousness within plants; specifically their native m’orta plants, which they use to weave themselves bodies they can pilot.

For almost as long as Bruce can remember, Alfred’s normal form has been the same size, shape, even same weight as an average human. Zyr gift to Bruce.

Even when the authorities said they would take Bruce from Alfred the moment they landed, Alfred gave every part of zyrself for Bruce. Ze taught him languages from all corners of known existence, while also keeping up Bruce’s English and Hebrew and Mandarin. Brought him to markets on different rest-moons, and kept up the practice from Bruce’s family of giving tokens to loved ones. Ze even figured out how to make traditional Earth dishes.

In every day of Bruce’s life, Alfred did everything ze could to ensure Bruce was happy. Ze made sure that Bruce had access to his family’s past and culture. Ze knew he needed that, needed that connection to his past, to his people. 

Bruce can never repay zyr enough for that. But he has to try.

Bruce has talked to Hal about being tired of living in a ship, of being ready to settle down in one area. He’s asked Kal-El about where telo wants to live. He is ready to move to a new part of life, whatever and wherever that would be, but first he has to do this. He has to save Alfred, the one parent he has left.

Bruce presses his fingers to the necklace he never takes off, finding the wooden bead easily. It’s smooth, crafted masterfully, with no imperfections on the surface. 

Alfred gave it to him only recently, and wearing it makes Bruce feel less lonely in the world. He has never felt like he is no longer honoring his parents’ memory by also wearing one of Alfred’s tokens. Especially considering he has so few tokens from his parents. Bruce keeps with tradition, and tokens are all about tradition. So each token is what he most recently received from the people he cares for. (It hurts, everytime he takes a token from Alfred, and slides it onto the chain that always holds the same short string of pearls and one carefully preserved petal.) 

The tokens he carries are simple, small indicators of affection for and knowledge of Bruce. They were inexpensive, and many people would not understand but…they make him feel loved. 

And so, his chain boasts four items. 

The newest item is a wooden bead. It’s made of the burl of a tree from Earth called a redwood, which Alfred tells him is from two places in the history of Bruce’s family, both China and North America. Bruce loves it, for the connection he likes to imagine it gives him to the planet he is from, but has never been to. 

The two items from his parents were given to Bruce days apart, but many years ago. 

The string of pearls were a gift from Bruce’s mother. She has always loved pearls. So much, she gathered pearls and strung them together herself, and these ones - she saved them, made a mini string just for Bruce. 

And the petal, encased carefully between two panes of glass. His father took the petal, lightly damaged by acid rain, and saved it just for Bruce. He can still remember his father's dramatic presentation as he kneeled down and held it out to Bruce.

(Still remembers the joy and excitement he felt.) 

And as for the fourth token...well, it's new.

* * *

[flashback: the spaceship hangar]

* * *

The hangar is empty, with no one around. It makes the huge room feel ripped from time and space – it’s so quiet, with everyone busy elsewhere, so different from the usual hustle and shouting over engines and equipment tests. 

It feels like an anti-gravity field; strangely unfamiliar, even if little has changed. And maybe it’s just Bruce’s mind, attaching the feelings of this life-changing moment to a room that is simply empty. He thinks that maybe, if the world was changed somehow, would that make it easier? Would it be easier to face the devastating news? Or is it a way to escape, to pretend these horrible feelings are rooted in something other than _death_ , something that’s _not_ a future of loneliness and sadness?

Hal is watching Bruce, quiet, solemn in a way Bruce has rarely seen hym. It would be concerning, if he hadn’t just announced his intention to leave on an indefinite mission to save his father. If he didn’t know that Hal cared for him, deeply.

(Maybe even more than that.)

It’s Hal’s turn to look hesitant now, nervous and unsure of the best way forward; fidgeting with the edge of hys robes like a child stuffed into someone else’s clothes. They stand like that for a long moment, waiting for something neither of them can name, and then Hal takes a deep breath and settles, posture loosening out, and all signs of indecision are swept away by a look of steady resolve. Hy catches Bruce’s eyes – just once, just briefly – and then reaches back and unhooks the necklace Bruce has watched hym wear for years. 

Hal told Bruce about the pendants on this necklace, once, in a time when they still didn't truly trust each other. Most of the items are one of few things Hal has left from his early childhood. From _before_. Hal has been part of the Lanterns for most of hys life, but not all of it. Hy’d once told Bruce that not many things had survived the destruction of his colony, which made the few surviving remnants that much more precious.

Yet here hy is, holding out the necklace like hy truly expects Bruce to just take one of these precious things away from him. 

“I know we never exchanged tokens before, but I really would like to.” Hal’s face is earnest, gentle in a way that makes Bruce’s heart crack, like the plateaus on Dēserm when the third sun rises. 

Hy takes one of the pendants, sliding it off the necklace. Bruce can only watch, almost paralysed with emotion. He is too afraid to call it love, yet it might be the only word to describe what he is feeling for Hal.

The pendant hy has taken off the necklace is blue, and though Bruce knows it's amber, he can't help but think it looks like a jewel from earth. The small flower inside is delicate and would have been so fragile, had it not been incased permanently.

"Hal," Bruce says softly.

Hy just smiles back, holding hys hand out with the pendant.

"But isn't this important to you?"

"So are you." Hal's voice is gentle and fond, and hy grabs Bruce's hand, dropping the pendant into it.

Bruce hesitates a moment before reaching up, fumbling with the clasp of his own necklace, trying to get it off.

The clasp opens, and the necklace feels heavier in his hand than it should. Looking at this beautiful pendant, this _gift_ , he realizes his hands are shaking. Small, subtle tremors, nothing that would draw attention in any other circumstances, but in the vast silence of the hangar, the rattle of the Tungsten links feels loud enough to wake the dead. There’s no way Hal _hasn’t_ noticed, but Bruce cannot stop himself. 

He tries for a few moments to fit the chain into the small hole of the amber pendant, but it just won't seem to fit.

"Hal," he says again, voice almost at the edge of breaking. He's so nervous, why is he so nervous?

Hal looks up at him, a slight smile as hy waits patiently. Hal is wonderful like that. Hy never assumes what Bruce needs. Hy lets Bruce make the choice, take action.

"Can... I can't-" Bruce holds the necklace and pendant out.

Hal steps forward a little more, and hy takes both from Bruce. Hys hands are also shaking slightly, but hy easily threads the pendant. 

"Turn around?"

Bruce turns, thankful for the easy acceptance. Hal’s fingers brush against the back of Bruce’s neck, carefully securing the necklace, and Bruce reaches up, runs hesitant fingers over the ancient, petrified nugget of resin as its unfamiliar weight settles on his chest.   
  


Bruce feels the weight of this new token. Its weight around his neck, and the weight he already feels on his soul at the thought of losing yet another person he's changed tokens with. 

It scares him, scares him so much that he's not even sure he can handle giving Hal a token. But...it’s Halian, the only person besides Alfred and his parents who has ever offered him a token. And as always, Bruce is traditional. A token exchange goes both ways. 

Bruce smiles tentatively. 

“Hal I...if you give me a minute, I have something I would like to give you.”

Hal returns the soft grin and nods, squeezing Bruce’s hand one more time and stepping back. 

Bruce goes to his personal room in the ship, pulls out one of his gift-boxes. Reaches in between a figurine for Diana and a crystalline stone he once picked up on a distant planet for Kal. Bruce has never been comfortable making that gesture first, and as such, these carefully chosen tokens have laid in silence for years. 

But Hal gave Bruce a token. He did it first. 

For once, Bruce doesn't have to be so scared.

**Author's Note:**

> Kal-El: Since Clark is from Krypton here, tel goes by telo Kryptonian name. If tel is addressed as 'Kal', it's like 'Clark', and 'Kal-El' is like 'Mr Kent'. 
> 
> Halian Jordan-Ki Jasil: The suffix 'Ki' indicates that Hal is a 'Lantern', and Jasil is a family/clan name from within the Lanterns. The Green Lanterns are similar to Mandalorians here - they don’t share a species, only a culture union, and they are dedicated to bringing/keeping peace.
> 
> We love to yell with people about space, so if you enjoyed this-  
> Join our server for:  
> \- lore about our universe  
> \- yelling at us to update sooner  
> \- maybe even a sneak peek (or two)
> 
> https://discord.gg/NwNA4Ap


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